After a long period of planning, meetings, and mobilization, it all finally brought us to the start of the Kisumu City Wide Mission with the theme ‘A malo Rieny,’ which is Luo for Arise and Shine drawn from Isaiah 60:1-3. The local churches and evangelists were looking forward to the shining of the glory of God over and in the city of Kisumu.

Despite the political temperatures in Kenya being at an all-time high due to the demonstrations at the time over various issues affecting citizens across the country, our evangelists were rearing to go, excited at the prospect of harvesting souls for the Kingdom of God.

AEE Kenya’s mission to the city of Kisumu was the second on the AE calendar, coming just a month after AEE Rwanda did their Students Mission to the city of Kigali.

The Kisumu City-wide mission yielded a total reach of 62,754 people and a harvest of 11,228 souls. Through the use of stratified evangelism, an outreach strategy where the gospel message is taken to everyone, everywhere, regardless of social or economic class, the gospel of Jesus was shared throughout the lakeside city of Kisumu from the streets kids to the city leaders.

Here is a look at some of the activities that took place during the mission:

SERVE THE CITY

Moi Stadium, a five-minute drive from the heart of Kisumu city, sits next to a former dump site that served the city and its environs. About a decade ago, the city decided to relocate the dump site elsewhere, and over the years, the land lay desolate. However, shortly before the AEE Kenya mission, the county government of Kisumu decided to rehabilitate it into an arboretum. This was the earmarked activity for Serve the City, a ministry and global movement of volunteers showing kindness in personal and actionable ways to people in need, this time, through a city clean up!

KIBOS PRISON MINISTRY

G.K Kibos Maximum Security prison houses 855 inmates, with 322 wardens watching over them and helping rehabilitate them as well. The inmates housed within are those sentenced to more than 20 years and those on life sentences as well. Most of them do not come there straight from court, but rather are brought in from smaller or medium prisons.

AEE Kenya visited the prison and shared the gospel with the inmates during the Kisumu Mission.

Sports Evangelism

Sports is one of the most effective ways to get young people together. In Kenya, almost every town has a patch of grass or even bare ground that is used for playing sports, the most common one being football. AEE Kenya arranged a football tournament that brought together hundreds of young people as they came to either play, watch, or cheer on others. After the games, many gave their lives to Christ as the gospel was shared before the awarding of trophies took place.

Street evangelism